Featured books by Valerie Wilding

How the First World War affected girls is excellently captured in this diary. Living a comfortable life in the country where she is regarded as a tomboy on account of her love of riding, Daffy has never had to work in her life. But, with the outbreak of war, things begin to change. It is 1916 and Daffy learns some basic skills in the local village hall and then signs up for the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry. Soon she is in France and right in the midst of the action. The addition of photographs brings the experience alive while a useful timeline gives some of the key dates of the First World War. ~ Julia Eccleshare

Brilliant time-travelling adventures. Toby hurtles back to Ancient Rome, into Titus’s life, and finds himself sludging through a sewer in search of riches.Toby Tucker, an orphan who has been fostered by the kind Don and Evie. His sole possession is a chest filled with torn paper, and a strange message: Piece your family tree together and you'll find out who you are and when you come from. 'When, not where?' thinks Toby. 'That can't be right.' Yet when he manages to put together a name, the most incredible magic happens. Toby finds he’s able to use his magic to go back in time and live the life of his ancestors’ and what a fab time he has. Readers of Horrid Henry and the Horrible Histories will love it and in addition we think that even the most reluctant of readers, particularly boys will really relate to Toby and his historical exploits. The titles in the series so far and in order are Keeping Sneaky Secrets, Dodging the Donkey Doo, Sludging Through the Sewers, Mucking about with Monkeys, Picking People’s Pockets and Hogging all the Pig Swill.

Brilliant time-travelling adventures.Toby is plunged back to Ancient Greece, into Niko’s life, where he finds himself dodging the donkey doo. Toby Tucker, an orphan who has been fostered by the kind Don and Evie. His sole possession is a chest filled with torn paper, and a strange message: Piece your family tree together and you'll find out who you are and when you come from. 'When, not where?' thinks Toby. 'That can't be right.' Yet when he manages to put together a name, the most incredible magic happens. Toby finds he’s able to use his magic to go back in time and live the life of his ancestors’ and what a fab time he has. Readers of Horrid Henry and the Horrible Histories will love it and in addition we think that even the most reluctant of readers, particularly boys will really relate to Toby and his historical exploits. The titles in the series so far and in order are Keeping Sneaky Secrets, Dodging the Donkey Doo, Sludging Through the Sewers, Mucking about with Monkeys, Picking People’s Pockets and Hogging all the Pig Swill.

Brilliant time-travelling adventures. Toby is magiced back to Victorian London, into Alfie Trott’s life, and finds himself picking people’s pockets, with one eye out for the peelers.Toby Tucker, an orphan who has been fostered by the kind Don and Evie. His sole possession is a chest filled with torn paper, and a strange message: Piece your family tree together and you'll find out who you are and when you come from. 'When, not where?' thinks Toby. 'That can't be right.' Yet when he manages to put together a name, the most incredible magic happens. Toby finds he’s able to use his magic to go back in time and live the life of his ancestors’ and what a fab time he has. Readers of Horrid Henry and the Horrible Histories will love it and in addition we think that even the most reluctant of readers, particularly boys will really relate to Toby and his historical exploits. The titles in the series so far and in order are Keeping Sneaky Secrets, Dodging the Donkey Doo, Sludging Through the Sewers, Mucking about with Monkeys, Picking People’s Pockets and Hogging all the Pig Swill.

Brilliant time-travelling adventures.Toby shoots back in time to the Second World War, into Fred Barrow’s life, and finds himself hogging all the pig swill, doing his bit for the war effort.Toby Tucker, an orphan who has been fostered by the kind Don and Evie. His sole possession is a chest filled with torn paper, and a strange message: Piece your family tree together and you'll find out who you are and when you come from. 'When, not where?' thinks Toby. 'That can't be right.' Yet when he manages to put together a name, the most incredible magic happens. Toby finds he’s able to use his magic to go back in time and live the life of his ancestors’ and what a fab time he has. Readers of Horrid Henry and the Horrible Histories will love it and in addition we think that even the most reluctant of readers, particularly boys will really relate to Toby and his historical exploits. The titles in the series so far and in order are Keeping Sneaky Secrets, Dodging the Donkey Doo, Sludging Through the Sewers, Mucking about with Monkeys, Picking People’s Pockets and Hogging all the Pig Swill.

Brilliant time-travelling adventures. Toby becomes a Doctor Who style time-traveller he is catapulted back to Ancient Egypt, into Seti’s life, and finds himself keeping sneaky secretsToby Tucker, an orphan who has been fostered by the kind Don and Evie. His sole possession is a chest filled with torn paper, and a strange message: Piece your family tree together and you'll find out who you are and when you come from. 'When, not where?' thinks Toby. 'That can't be right.' Yet when he manages to put together a name, the most incredible magic happens. Toby finds he’s able to use his magic to go back in time and live the life of his ancestors’ and what a fab time he has. Readers of Horrid Henry and the Horrible Histories will love it and in addition we think that even the most reluctant of readers, particularly boys will really relate to Toby and his historical exploits. The titles in the series so far and in order are Keeping Sneaky Secrets, Dodging the Donkey Doo, Sludging Through the Sewers, Mucking about with Monkeys, Picking People’s Pockets and Hogging all the Pig Swill.

Brilliant time-travelling adventures. Toby is magiced back to Tudor London, into John Bunn’s life, and finds himself mucking about as animal keeper to the King.Toby Tucker, an orphan who has been fostered by the kind Don and Evie. His sole possession is a chest filled with torn paper, and a strange message: Piece your family tree together and you'll find out who you are and when you come from. 'When, not where?' thinks Toby. 'That can't be right.' Yet when he manages to put together a name, the most incredible magic happens. Toby finds he’s able to use his magic to go back in time and live the life of his ancestors’ and what a fab time he has. Readers of Horrid Henry and the Horrible Histories will love it and in addition we think that even the most reluctant of readers, particularly boys will really relate to Toby and his historical exploits. The titles in the series so far and in order are Keeping Sneaky Secrets, Dodging the Donkey Doo, Sludging Through the Sewers, Mucking about with Monkeys, Picking People’s Pockets and Hogging all the Pig Swill.

Other books by Valerie Wilding

In 1939, on a royal tour of Dartmouth Naval College, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) meets the dashing Prince Philip of Greece. Immediately they begin a correspondence, as war breaks out across Europe, where Philip is sent to serve in the Navy. Elizabeth convinces her father the King, despite his reservations, to allow her to sign up to the war effort and joins the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service. Serving her country, driving trucks and fixing cars, Elizabeth wonders, will she ever see her prince again...?

It's 1670. When Susannah and her brother are orphaned she is forced to live on the charity of distant relations in England while he seeks his fortune in America. But when news arrives that her brother is dangerously ill Susannah will stop at nothing to get the money she desperately needs to save his life...

It's 1917 and the Great War rages in Europe. When Daffy Rowntree's brother goes missing in action she refuses to sit safely in England, and determines to do something to help win the war. Soon she finds herself in the mud and horror of the battlefields of France, driving an ambulance transporting the wounded of the trenches...

I Was There... is a perfect introduction for younger readers into stories from the past, allowing children to imagine that they were really there. I Was There... Shakespeare's Globe tells the thrilling story of a young boy actor in Shakespeare's own theatre company. Brilliantly reimagined by My Story author, Valerie Wilding, readers aged 7+ will love this vivid first-hand account of a child's experience of Tudor times. 2014 is the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth.

In 1939, on a royal tour of Dartmouth Naval College, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) meets the dashing Prince Philip of Greece. Immediately they begin a correspondence, as war breaks out across Europe, where Philip is sent to serve in the Navy. Elizabeth convinces her father the King, despite his reservations, to allow her to sign up to the war effort and joins the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service. Serving her country, driving trucks and fixing cars, Elizabeth wonders, will she ever see her prince again...?

Join Mary Wade on a long and perilous journey that begins in the slums of eighteenth century London. Aged thirteen, Mary is imprisoned in Newgate prison awaiting sentence of death for a petty theft. When her sentence is commuted to transportation she sets sail onboard a prison ship to the other side of the world. Australia brings the promise of a new life, but does Mary have what it takes to make it in the land of opportunity?

Take a unique journey through the twists and turns of some of the greatest tales in English literature in this celebration of the work of Charles Dickens. \* Peep into the secret diary of Pip from Great Expectations. \* Spook yourself senseless reading the fright reports of the ghosts from A Christmas Carol. \* Join investigative reporter, Pete Prior, on his manhunt for the kidnapper of a young orphan called Oliver Twist. Top stories alongside top facts about the about the great man who wrote them and the troubling times in which they were written. Stories included: David Copperfield Nicholas Nickleby A Tale of Two Cities Oliver Twist Great Expectations The Old Curiosity Shop Hard Times Dombey & Son The Pickwick Papers A Christmas Carol

Cleopatra is an iconic figure and one of the most powerful women in history. The last pharaoh of Egypt, and often depicted as a great beauty, she was renowned for her liaisons with the world's most powerful men, including Gaius Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. This fictional retelling of her life is a dramatic and thrilling story. Lives in Action is a series of narrative biographies that recount the lives of some of the key figures in history. Page-turning, thrilling plots that read like fiction will keep the most reluctant reader hooked.

It's 1917 and the Great War rages in Europe. When Daffy Rowntree's brother goes missing in action, she refuses to sit safely in England, and determines to do something to help win the war. Soon she finds herself in the mud and horror of the battlefields of France, driving an ambulance transporting the wounded of the trenches.

Toby Tucker is an orphan with a secret. He owns a chest filled with torn paper, and a strange message: Piece your family tree together and you'll find out who you are and when you come from. When he manages to put together a name, the most incredible magic happens. Toby travels back in time and becomes his ancestor! He's already been to Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. This time Toby is magicked back to Tudor London, into John Bunn's life, and finds himself mucking out and mucking about as animal keeper to the king: 'I hate Scrope, Nellie. I like working with the beasts, but I do not want to work for that man any more. But who would give a job to a dung boy?' I think I could be a gardener. I asked the merchant's wife, very respectfully, 'Madam, do you need a boy to help in your garden?' She smiled and said that when she does want someone, she will think of me. I said, 'I can be found at the Tower, my lady, in the king's menagerie.' 'I know!' she said. Everyone laughed. They all know where I come from because I smell of lion and dung. I did not laugh.

Toby Tucker is an orphan with a secret. He owns a chest filled with torn paper, and a strange message: Piece your family tree together and you'll find out who you are and when you come from. When he manages to put together a name, the most incredible magic happens. Toby travels back in time and becomes his ancestor! He's already been to Ancient Egypt, and can't wait for the magic to begin again! This time Toby is plunged back to Ancient Greece, into Niko's life, where he finds himself dodging the donkey doo: It's hardly a good idea to head-butt a donkey, and I'll never know what made me do it this morning. One minute I was standing there wondering which of the stubborn creatures to take to market, the next I was cross-eyed with my nose pressed up against a donkey's rear end. Not the nicest thing I've smelt today! Melissa the bee woman keeps well back because, she says, she doesn't want to catch my fleas. Cheek! They're not my fleas. They're the donkeys'

Toby Tucker has a huge secret. He owns a magical chest filled with torn paper, and a strange message: Piece your family tree together and you'll find out who you are and when you come from. When he manages to put together a name, the most incredible magic happens. Toby travels back in time and becomes his ancestor! He's been to Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and Tudor and Victorian London so far. In this final adventure, Toby shoots back in time to the Second World War, into Fred Barrow's life, and finds himself hogging all the pig swill, doing his bit for the war effort: I took a huge load of pig swill round to Len and Kath. They let me help with the pigs sometimes, but I just gave them a scratch (the pigs, not Len and Kath!) When I started all this salvage lark, I said I was going to do my bit by becoming the champion salvager, and by helping people while I did my rounds. Len and Kath need help, so I'll make sure they're never short of swill. The pigs love swill. They stick their heads right in it, and snort and snuffle! They're funny. I know they smell, but you don't notice after you've been round them a bit. It hits you when you first go near the sties, though. After all this time travelling, will Toby find out who he really is?

Toby Tucker is an orphan with a secret. He owns a chest filled with torn paper, and a strange message: Piece your family tree together and you'll find out who you are and when you come from. When he manages to put together a name, the most incredible magic happens. Toby travels back in time and becomes his ancestor! He's already been to Ancient Egypt and Greece. This time Toby hurtles back to Ancient Rome, into Titus' life, and finds himself sludging through a sewer in search of riches. I waded further in, not looking down in case I saw something nasty float past. Then I thought: Stupid fool! How will you find treasure unless you look down? The smell was getting to me. If it ponged here, I wondered how much worse the stink would be where a drain emptied into the sewer. I'm not giving up, though. No darkness, no stink will stop me treasure-hunting...This could be the way to freedom - and Britannia!

Toby Tucker is an orphan with a thrilling secret. He owns a chest filled with torn paper, and a strange message: Piece your family tree together and you'll find out who you are and when you come from. When he manages to put together a name, the most incredible magic happens. Toby travels back in time and becomes his ancestor! He's been to Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and Tudor London so far. But is he any closer to finding out who he is? This time Toby is magicked back to Victorian London, into Alfie Trott's life, and finds himself picking people's pockets, with one eye out for the peelers: I was just dipping a nicely bulging pocket when something gripped my neck. My stomach scrunched up - a peeler! I whipped my hand out of the pocket, and froze. A hoarse voice whispered, I told you to stay off Mr Barkitt's patch. Didn't I? As he said, Didn't I? he shook me by the neck. I was stretched so tall I thought I'd lose my trousers. The owner of the fat pocket was smirking at me. Fool didn't know how near he'd come to being robbed!